Month: February 2012

Rome wasn’t built in a day. I know that is a slogan that speaks to how long it takes to accomplish something great. And that is true. But this really discounts the importance of that one single day.

I know that you can blink and 24 hours can go by. I know that you can probably blink and a week goes by. But days matter. You can make a day matter.

I keep thinking about Leap Year this year. The extra day given to us on Wednesday, February 29th. This additional day for all of us. What are you going to do with it? There are so many possibilities of what to do in any given day. So many choices. Infinite really. But we rarely seem to take advantage of that on normal days. Now that we get this bonus time…let’s do something.

Maybe you haven’t thought about it yet. I get it. The day is in the middle of the week. And I know you have to work. Or have school. Or kids. Or just life.

But consider it now. This bonus 24 hours. It’s extra. Extra time to do with whatever you would like. A found day.

I know it’s just one day.

Imagine though, you had one day to live. And you got this one extra day. The way of the samurai, as I’ve mentioned many times, is a way of death. And we should live each day like it’s the last of our lives. And each day should valued and treasured, and blah blah…you’ve probably read me ranting before.

But I don’t want to talk about that. I want you to imagine you’re going to live until you are 90 years old. And I want you to fast forward to the last day of your life. Where do you think you are? What do you think you are doing? I know there are some very youthful 90 year olds, but what can you bank on being able to do at that age that doesn’t involve a soon to be replaced knee, false teeth, and a plastic hip? What are you actually going to do on that last day? So even if you are given that one extra day to live at that age, are you maximizing it.

Now imagine at 90 years old, you were able to go back in time on that very last day, and live that day when you were 17, 23, 30, or even 50. Well, I know you know where I’m going with this…you can live that day right now. You have it on Wednesday. You have it on any day you choose really. But this extra day provides you with an opportunity to just have at it.

Live the last day of your life on Wednesday. It’s one extra.

It’s not to say to wake up Wednesday, eat mounds of fried food, drink yourself into oblivion, and have sex with anyone you see. How are you going to go out? Do something great. Start something great.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. It definitely wasn’t. Rome was a city, an empire that took hundreds or maybe thousands of years to create.

But they broke ground on the first house within the city limits on one given day. The Roman political movement was born one day. The Roman army was first formed on one single day. Everything ever done great was started on one single day.

No one is expecting you to build your Rome in 24 hours. Just break ground on this extra day in this Leap Year.